Royal Service by Leslie North

Author:Leslie North [North, Leslie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

11

Phillip had made small talk and smiled his official king smile and complimented more dresses than he could count. The ball had only started twenty minutes ago but he already felt like he might fall on his own ceremonial sword if he had to bow over one more lady’s hand, if that lady wasn’t Ella.

He glanced at the stairs where the ladies had been making their entrance. Empty. The last trickle of fashionably-late guests had arrived a few minutes ago and it was starting to look like she wasn’t coming. Internally, he cursed himself. It had to be his fault. He’d pushed too hard, put too much attention on her, tried to move too quickly. Maybe she had just meant she was ready for a new pair of shoes.

In the corner, the band started to warm up. Phillip tugged at his collar. If Ella didn’t get here in the next few minutes, he’d have to pick someone else for the first dance. Should he randomly choose one of the other eligible ladies? His mother, perhaps? He shot one last desperate glance at the stairs—and his heart stopped.

Ella had arrived.

She stepped onto the landing, one hand resting delicately on the railing and the other lifting her dress as she descended. She was in a silky silver gown that cascaded across her curves like liquid moonlight, and she was wearing those glittering shoes—he remembered handing one of those to her the first time they’d met. Her hair was swept half up, the rest of it tumbling across one shoulder in an even sexier version of her normal ponytail. Her gaze was steady and sweet when it landed on him, and he had to catch his breath. She looked like every good dream he’d ever had. She looked like a fairytale come to life. She looked like a queen.

She reached him, extending her hand for him to bow over. “My lady,” he murmured, and she smiled again, accepting the title. His heart pounded. This was it; she was making it official. She was willing to give up her old dreams for the chance to be his queen. No one could ever have given him a better gift.

The band slid into the first song, a royal waltz. He swept her out onto the dance floor. When they moved into the dance’s steps, he marveled at the way she felt in his arms. A few other couples—the ladies sullen, but that was no longer his problem—stepped out and followed suit, and soon they were lost in a crowd. Phillip might as well have been blind, though, for all he could see anything but Ella.

Unable to resist temptation, he slipped his hand a little lower. The next time the dance’s steps moved Ella in toward him, he whispered in her ear, “I can’t wait to get you alone.”

She shivered and her eyes lit up, just about killing him on the spot.

The band moved into another dance, and then another, but he couldn’t unglue himself from her.

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